Three new inscriptions from Hadhramaut

Extract

The three inscriptions shown in Plates X and XI were copied by Mr. Harold Ingrams in the course of a journey from Bir 'Ali (? the ancient Cana or Kana) on the south coast of Arabia to Shabwa and Al 'Abr during the last ten days of April, 1939. At an early stage of that journey he passed through the great wall of Wadi Bana, in whose gateway stands the celebrated record known as the “Obne inscription” (R.E.S. 2687) and first discovered by Adolph von Wrede in 1843. Beyond this point Mr. Ingrams noted or collected a number of graffiti, pictures, and “inscribed stones”, none of which are at present available for examination. But it was not till he reached the pass of 'Aqaba Futura (3,500 feet above sea-level and about a week's journey from the wall) at the head of Wadi 'Anna, flowing westward across the plateau to Shabwa and eventually into Wadi Hadhramaut, that he found his first considerable inscription, No. 1 (Plate X). The second inscription, No. 2 (Plate XI), was found on the final pass, 'Aqabat 'Aqaiba (2,750 feet), leading down from the plateau to the Shabwa plain, while the third of this group, No. 3 (Plate XI), was found near the desert well of Al 'Abr, 56 miles north of Shabwa.